Private Arnold

Ali Sotto grew up as the only girl in a brood of four. Since she has three brothers, she is very comfortable in the company of male friends. In showbiz alone, you can put me in the list and Arnold Clavio and lawyer/radio host Aga Arellano, too.

Every time she gets based abroad and would return to the Philippines, expect Arnold, her former co-anchor in DZBB, to always be the first to meet up with her for lunch. But when she flew back in — for good — last month, I beat Arnold to it by picking up Ali myself from the airport. However, Atty. Aga was able to pull a fast one on me by making pre-arrival arrangements for the Maltese dog Ali was brought home with her. He may not have been there physically, but every time the canine barked, we were reminded that it was he who facilitated the dog’s legal entry to the Philippines.

But Arnold, always the fast one, lost no time hooking up with Ali though. They were in touch just within days of Ali’s arrival.

Some two weeks ago, I was supposed to treat Ali to dinner when at the last minute she told me to accompany her instead to Arnold’s birthday party at his home. I protested. I may be a hopeless social climber, but I can never be accused of being a gatecrasher. She assured me that Arnold would be delighted to see me there.

 The truth is, Arnold and I may not be very close buddies, but we feel a certain kinship every time we bump into each other within the GMA 7 premises. Undoubtedly, that is due to the fact that we are aware that we are both Ali’s good friends and that is a bond that ties us.

However, I still didn’t want to go because that was early in the week and wasn’t eager to go showbiz so soon just days after a weekend of Startalk. Believe me, we don’t live, eat and breathe… showbiz every day of the week. We also have our off-showbiz days.

But once more, there was an assurance from Ali that it would not be a showbiz party. She knows Arnold better and I agreed to be her escort for the night (she didn’t know what to do with me since we had planned to meet up days prior to that). And so to Arnold’s birthday dinner we went.

Arnold originally had a house built for his family in Bulacan. But since he is the one who opens and closes GMA 7 every day (Unang Hirit at 5 a.m. and Saksi at way past 11 p.m.), it was more practical for him to find a home closer to his place of work.

He found one in a street off Tomas Morato and it is on the side near GMA 7. It was actually an old house that he knocked down to make way for a modern structure to fit his and his wife Yna’s taste.

I am really no big fan of modern architecture, but I still found the layout of their house to be quite charming. It is basically no-nonsense — very practical.

The standard-sized living room with a high ceiling is unpretentious and has a lived-in look. It was obviously meant to be used by the family and does not serve as just some showcase to be featured in architectural magazines.

The dining area is where family members actually take their meals every day and only a counter separates it from the kitchen.

In the two upper floors (it’s three stories — aside from the basement) are the sleeping quarters and Yna apologizes for what she calls a mess, but which is the regular state of my own home even after a good housekeeping day.

Yna is presently taking up her doctoral on education and had just returned from a Japan trip that I understand was part of a school requirement. Since she didn’t have time to cook for this dinner, Arnold suggested to her to merely order dishes from their regular sources.

Very tasty was the jardinera or what my part of the Tagalog region calls de llanera (although both words are clearly Hispanic). It is a meat dish with a lot of sliced boiled eggs neatly arranged in an oval pan. That jardinera is supposed to be sold somewhere near Tomas Morato. Ali, however, liked best the laing (also restaurant-bought) and she badly missed this Bicolano specialty since she never had it in the more than two years she lived in Madrid.

In the middle of dinner, the kids (the Clavios have three) came in with their friends. They ate quietly at the kitchen table on the other side of the counter because we already occupied the dining area. Since Arnold and Yna married right after school (UST), they already have a grandchild, now only a few months old.

Arnold’s family is his life outside of GMA 7. In this house, he is not the topnotch broadcaster that he is known in public — just a regular father to his kids. There is no semblance of showbiz in his private space. Even his guests on this birthday dinner, which was no big bash typical of showbiz gatherings, consisted mostly of golf buddies.

When they first moved to that residence some three years ago, the matrimonial bed was positioned in such a way that the first view that Arnold saw upon waking up was the GMA 7 tower at the corner of Timog and EDSA. It was the same sight he would see before retiring at night. Not that he didn’t like his job and his place of work. But like anyone else, he didn’t want to be reminded of work all the time.

To his relief, a building was constructed within the vicinity that eventually blocked this view of the GMA 7 tower. Relaxing at home with his family these days, the only reminder of his link to showbiz is actress Carla Abellana, who bought a unit in a townhouse right beside his home.

During that one meal, I saw for myself how Arnold lives. He is a simple family man — and very private. But I sense his contentment and fulfillment as the head of that happy family. For all those awards he had reaped as a broadcaster, his biggest trophy is still his family.

I was fortunate that evening to have had a glimpse of Arnold’s family life in their simple, but happy home. And I will always be grateful to them for letting me in and share their private world that I explored that evening.

And here’s another discovery that I want to share with our readers: Arn-Arn doesn’t live with them.